RAWBONED Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'rawboned' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of rawboned are gaunt , lanky , lank , lean , scrawny , skinny , and spare . While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment. // a rawboned farmer

Q: When might 'gaunt' be a better fit than 'rawboned'?

While the synonyms gaunt and rawboned are close in meaning, gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering. // a prisoner's gaunt face

Q: When is it sensible to use 'lank' instead of 'rawboned'?

The words lank and rawboned are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lank implies tallness as well as leanness. // the lank legs of the heron

Q: When can 'lanky' be used instead of 'rawboned'?

In some situations, the words lanky and rawboned are roughly equivalent. However, lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness. // a lanky youth, all arms and legs

Q: When could 'lean' be used to replace 'rawboned'?

Although the words lean and rawboned have much in common, lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours. // a lean racehorse

Q: How do 'scrawny' and 'skinny' relate to one another, in the sense of 'rawboned'?

Both scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality. // a scrawny chicken // skinny street urchins

Q: When is 'spare' a more appropriate choice than 'rawboned'?

While in some cases nearly identical to rawboned , spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise. // the gymnast's spare figure

rawboned

adjective

Definition of rawboned next

as in angular

having a prominent and often large or rugged bone structure The cowboy was tall and rawboned.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective rawboned contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of rawboned are gaunt, lanky, lank, lean, scrawny, skinny, and spare. While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

When might gaunt be a better fit than rawboned?

While the synonyms gaunt and rawboned are close in meaning, gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

When is it sensible to use lank instead of rawboned?

The words lank and rawboned are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

When can lanky be used instead of rawboned?

In some situations, the words lanky and rawboned are roughly equivalent. However, lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

When could lean be used to replace rawboned?

Although the words lean and rawboned have much in common, lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

How do scrawny and skinny relate to one another, in the sense of rawboned?

Both scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken

skinny street urchins

When is spare a more appropriate choice than rawboned?

While in some cases nearly identical to rawboned, spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rawboned Mitsouko softened Chypre’s rawboned extremes, imparting a creamy peach glow to the whole. —

Noy Thrupkaew, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2021 Kirschling, a rawboned young man from Wisconsin, had written a master’s thesis at Columbia about long-term productivity decline in New York City’s mass transit. —

William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 2 July 2018 Like so many in Lincoln Heights, this tiny, rawboned 89-year-old woman had lived through a time of gang violence, high crime and police oppression. —

Brittny Mejia, Joe Mozingo, www.latimes.com, 3 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rawboned

Adjective

The new mirrors also feature an angular component to redirect laser pulses to a receiving station back on Earth, rather than straight back to their LLRO point of origin.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Jan. 2025
It's got the gamer aesthetic, with angular chassis elements and Acer's Predator branding, of many other family members in the Taiwanese tech firm's line of gaming notebooks.

— Tom Brant, PCMAG, 14 Jan. 2025